Harvester for beets and other root crops.



F. S. INGOLDSBY.

HARVESTER EOE BEETS AND OTHER E001" GEoPs.'

APPLICATION FILED AUGJZ, 1912.

Patented s911122, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1` F. S. INGOLDSBY. HARVESTER Pon BBBTs AND OTHER nooToRoPs'.

APPLICATION FILED AUG'. 12, 1912. v I 1,1 1'1 ,538, Patented Sept. 22, 1914'.

a slums-SHEET a:

WI v'nrcssss F. S. INGOLDSBY.

HARVESTER FOR BEETS AND OTHER ROOTjGROPS.

` APPLICATION FILED AUG.12, 1912. I

Patented Sept. 22, 1914.

M E v... H .s r T E E H s 5 0 M W m f M 3. 7 a 1 l. my n l .r 8 3. 5 .1 1. 1 m. 1 9 L IN VEN Tof? Mv'nfasscs llciyinehmficl I i ear-,mild cinici-,kde

raising' andl clenningu theni 'and dischargingf them. Nninerfous fegt-ureeiof nchnmclnne,

440 iiomgajsefonb in ihejenim hereof. i

, l 55 hand corner;

g mecha'ni''inhar 'its' lower right-i,

Fig. 6 is ay vertical section v n1 fr iginen uryiel'eyation iof( xtlielportiomof-- Letter Patent .the forward end thisfrnme is suitablypivi` -1 o ted vtothe fontvaxlealo c -urryingfthe front, x wheels'A 11. TheI front wheels' arepreferablyl .small enough',4 soy thutthey?y may ass linden neath'the frame-work and comp etelyzclezu w,

ing.. Near the rerfportion of theframe is 1t-he rear axle. housing 12,' yreferred-to, from'- l.whichprojects angnxle loosely or. rigidly,

I-zis the motive powerfgmny require, carrying :I If thelmachine is tobe prop lledby unil; i-inal power, -therer'fwhecls maybe loose on the airle,.and 's uitnble draftfrjgging, in 95- l.d iceted at 175.-, is connected with the forward .end of the m'ain frame and withfythejfront axleyjas illustratoed in the drawing, \If, on 'the other hund, the machine is;fto be" .pellell by motivefpowen: the draft rigging .is removed and :il-suitable engine 0.1- 'motor is mjonnted on the frame sind connected `with v f .-on of thefrearfivheelsg'in" which case they are rigidly'attachedio the a.xle.. Such;en; j l'ne' may convenient-lv be, mounledonoth'e 105 iagonul franfefenl's .a nc lf9 and-connected jby a, Sprocket chain with the wheel 14, if desired,- In s uch caso,of. course, 'menusfer "pov'ded. 4 r :"3 Carried by the 'machine frame lsind' pro- `through thetopp'rngmechan'sm; Fig.' 7 is fjeti'ng below it are the me'hgf;

thefframeof the machine c onsistSf-ofnjgfit, enahlingconvenient; turning rmdfguid@k l nism, the lows and the combined puller, cleanerfan loader. As'the topping mechanism acts' first 'on the crop'to be 'rein/ved,

I will first describe i -with partcula ref` erence to the form o 'toppingmedhanism shown in Figs. lV tofiinclusive. ,/Later' I l willA describe certain modifications of .this topping mechanism, which may be'employed if desired.

Referring now to4- the figures mentioned,

indicates a transverse shaft extendingA beneath the main frame andsupported bysuitable brackets 2l A4 (F ig. 4) depending from the. main frame. On this shaft is a sprocket wheel .22: over which ,"extends a Zsprocket chain 23 leading from" a sprocket whee1f24. The latter wheel', is ri 'd on a l shaft 25 lying transversely above t e frame and4 supportedby the struts(A 27- and 28. This shaft, -as hereinafter l -iiplained, may

be 4clutched toa sprocket w' eel 29 loose .on

^ the, shaft and' carryingafsprocket chain rotated@ l. Y d A .As shown in.=Figs,1 t 6, loosely mounted' 30 which extends around sprocket wheel 31 bolted or otherwiseseoired to the V-drive Wheel 15. Accordingly, when the clutch is in engagement and the machine propelled over the ground, the shaft 2O is-continuously on theshaft 2O are tw arms `35 and36 of y'a U-shaped bar, the lower end .of whichforms a cross bar 37,-sucli bar constituting,

- in effect, a floating Ll-shaped frame. Se-

, 4cured'to the cross-*bar 37`are a series of forwardly projecting- Ishoesv 38 having horizontal openings -39 through which entends the transverse knife bar 40 having triangular forwardly pointing knives', after the manner of a mowing machine. This vknife bar is connected with the forward end 'of av lever-42 pivoted interrnediately at 43 to an" arm 36 and at its upper end connected by a link 44 with -a crank pin 45 on a bevel pinion 46 which meshes with the bevel gear yi7 on the shaft'QO. The-pinion 46 is shown as'journaled on a stud carried by across bar 18fsecured to' the arm 35 and loosely "hung on the shaft 20.-' From this mechanism it results that, as the machine is propelled forwardly, the knife bar 40 reciproeates horizontally and is adapted to eut The forward ends of thesetines lie close .to the ground, and incline' upwardly andrearwardly therefrom, and thus operate to y engage underneath any drooping. or'recumbent portions of the foliage, raising the elastic, 'not only raise the reeumben't foliage,

but, to a'cer't'an'exfent, take 'careof side, obstructions, inasmuch as the *tinej 1s de- Iiected thereby and: .the following stiffer shank ofl the tine shovesagainst the `ob ,n

struction and pushes it sidewise out of the way, or the shoe is' raised thereby to pass over it,-,a's the case may be. j

The tines S0-have balls l510m their points-f. so that they can not stick into orjinlure a 75 root. Onthe other end of the-tines screw into threaded'- openings`- in the'forward end of the shoes, andfin fron'tjofthese openingsthe` tines have enlarged shoulders, soA 'that' theycannot break off short and--pl'ug'the openings. If there is any brealnrgauit willi` be .in front of the shoulder and there- .maining shoulder providesa convenientplace for'the application of -a-wre'neh to unscrew the remaining-*portion of the' tine-- 3.5

To 'prevent these 'downwardlywprojecting tines or the shoes' from becomingembeddedv i in the ground or plantsnkprovide 4 chains 55, the'lower ends of which are securedto the arms 35 and 36,:the u per ends'jto. ,suit- 90l able 'eyes 57 carried by t e cross bar 3'of These-'chains `liinit; ithe' dvo'wn-y ward movement 'of the' shoes and tines-A Y while allowing them Ato play upwardly freely 'in'4 passing over obstructions. The g5. lengths of the 'chains arere'gulated-by-"turn buckles 58, or other' suitable meha'nicalfadthe frame.

justments.

' A 'Plate 5 9 may lcover-" the topper frame, andgif 'desired :this Plata .10o

may be provided'atits upper lend with al bent -or troughdike portion 60, as js'h'own in the drawings. The Vpurpose 'of these `parte is to make a baiile'fo'r lthe foliage'toiim' kpinge against and help toforce the: same 105 toward the sides of the vehicle, .leaving the foliage along the sides of the' rows harvested, where 'ce'rtain operators Ade'siref the. foliage to be left. In practical operation,

if the baille plate and its troughshouldbe-- come clogged, it, would bean easy matter v for the driver on the seat 18 to removethe.

same by a movement of'one of his'feet,"asv

the plate is directly belowl the naturalposis tion of-his feet and easily accessible; '115 If it be desired to 'have the foliage land tops gathered up a'nd'loaded with the roots or bulbs, the plate 59 and itstrOuGh -60 are simply omitted and the tops accordinglyl fall over behind the topper and lie on the 120 ground, to be raised by the puller,"- hereinafter described. I- i Y' To make it possible to-'adjust 4the amount of the weight of the topperwhiehres'tson f Athe ground and thus insure the topper .passif 12 ing with the desired -lightness over` the.

ground or obstructions` the topper may V same so that the knives act thereon and c ounterweiglited, as'l illustrated in dotted.. effectively sever .uch foliage from the roots. lines 'in Eig. 4, where the arms 35 and' 36v The tines 50v being more or less flexible andl extend tothe rear of the shaft 20, as shown A130 yat and are provided with counterweights 63.

-To loosen the soil on .each side of the row of roots, I provide a pair of plows which are set as near or vas far away .from such row as desired. The plow shares are designated 70.

Aoted to the lever.

They are carried on suitable arms 71, which are mounted on a rock shaft, 72."- Projecting forwardly from this rock shaft is a rock arm 73 for adjusting the position of the plow. This rock arm carries a slidablelocking dog 74 coperating with a stationary segment 75 and operated by a usual hand grip 78 piv- The plow points have their Shanks preferably U-shaped in cross l sectlon, so that they extend onto opposite sides of the arms 7l and are th-us doubly securedfthereto. Underneath the plowv points 'the arms are formed to receive chisel points,

as shown at 79, the .function cf which isvto fr the plow into the ground at the beginning of the operation, .this chiselpoint being the first to rest on the surface 'when .the plow is--letdown and' automatically doing the forcing as the machine is moved forward. A downward push of the operator on the plow llever 73 assists this operation and is the natural way to startthe plowing. The plow shares may vary in size and shape and sets Vof -thcm may go with eachmachine for'use in varied service.

=To yprevent any' backward motion of the plowsor undue strainv on the shaft 72, as

v wellas to secure the" position of the plow -arms laterally, I provide a pair of abutments SOI-.which are carriedrby the frame cross bar 5 and are adapted to receivethe rearward thrust of the plowarms', and are grooved on i their under sides to constantly engage thosejarms nea-r their pivots and thus holdthem from rlateral shifting.. These lugs-are adjustable in position, preferably by means of,

several holes in thevcross bar.. through la .choice of.. which bolts may pass, so that the' i' position to suit thedesired position ofI the lugs with the plow arms may bechanged in .plowsVv H.

:When the plows are to be removed from i the ground, a' slight backing of the machine loosens them, after which the operator raises themby means of the plow lever 73. In such v raising action theplows engage the cross bar` of the topper and raise it to idle position. ln this position the plow and topper are heldby reason of the dog'74 engaging the notch in the segment 75.y On the handle of the plow lever I vmay provide a bail'or clip 83fto keep lthe dog out of action while the plow isbeing engaged or loosened from the ground.y

Y .I will now describe thepuller, cleaner and -loader,f which,1 as a wholeg-,fis plvotallv' mounted on the rear portion of the vehicle.

'The 'frame of the puller,cleancr and loader consists of light but'strong parallel bars 85,

less chain of properly series 'of sprocket wheels 96l and 97 carrying a series .of endless sprocket chains 98.Y

Proper adjustment and tension is given to these chains by screws acting on the boxes on Veach end of the shaft 94, one of such screws being shown at 99 in Fig. y1. -The sired'number (six being. shownin the d -rawing), are lmounted side by sideand carry proiecting tines 105, which, by reason of the movement of the chains, (downwardly ontheirrear reaches) are adapted to enter the at therea;` of the beets. and, by acting yfoflx'i'wardly -a lu u thereon, 'aiftcr-'theffmanner o a pitch k, serve to pull the beets from the loosened ground and carry lthem up the elevator provided by the chainsrtiues and side wings 87. To effect this, the movement of these tines downwardly and forwardly and upwardlyl inthe ground -ismore rapid than the corresponding forward movement of the'machine. The mechanismv for moving the chains willbe describedlater. f

The pullex'f-'liiines 105 are shaped4 similar to the. topper tlnes 50 heretofore referred to. They are ball'pointed, so that they will not injure -thef roots, and at ltheir innerA ends they are screw ythreaded into certain of the suitable boxes `for chair'rs;-98, ofv which there may be any delinks ofthechains 98. J ust outside of this link-they haveenlar'gements 125 which'prevent`- any breaking of the tine in a way. Y

which would plugthe hole'. -The enlargcmentf also insures `the proper set of the tine in the'chain and provides a convenient place wherethe' tine maybe grasped -by a wrench, so that it, or. the remaining'- portion of it, may be removed. The tines beingelastic, will pass by obstructions in thc ground much the same as the topper tincs 50 heretofore mentioned.

' B v differently setting the sprocket wheels onthe shaftsf94 and 95, I may cause the' tincs to stand in an arclialcourse, as illustrated in Fig. 7 yso that the group of tin'es constitute a sort of skeleton'scoop, thu's inmay be growm in hand, so that I have practically anfenks ormed pitch. or

l'll

.suring the gathering lof any roots which the row being harvested. kThis scoop-like grouping of the tines is ar-' ranged on an arc suitable to the harvestix@ far gathering ap the 'meer sans hchf such forks encounter,'-together witi the tops thereof, if the latter havef been lefton the ground by the omission'of the bale' 59.

.The walls 87 p revent the athered. prod-- uct. falling, o' t 'e tines', and lthis product is2 raised by. the chains and tmes. Now the arrangement of-theinclined elevating chains 98 side b side bybei'ng y) spaced apart resents a grilll any soil'may fall through theAA grill. f This, results in the cleaning o the beets or roots as they are being elevated, and tliis mecha- V 1-5 mismconstitutes what' I call the' dry'- cleaner of my apparatus."-f To receive the gathered dischar ed'at the upper en 'ofthe elevator,

ich is a roofed "over continuation-'of theA side walls 87= .and carries a su p"orting comb 128 between lthe bars of`whic the upper `most tines pass. This 'leaves-.the beets 'or roots stpported onthe comb and -theyroll? ,.25 gently" own" same and pass into 'the chute 130, which delivers'them: to a suitable wagon '131 traveling alongside of the 'ha'rvestei'.` To makethis chute 130 so that it. can be used either to the right orlleft ofthe har- 13.0 vester, I provide itsupper end with eyes 133 .adapsted to hook onto either-.of two sets. of hoo 134 secured on op osite sides ofthe hood 88. If desired tof ischarge -the har- @sied bee@ directly 01160 thev ground, `the 1:86 chute is simply removed.-

fore referred to, which is connected 4by a sprocket chain with the drive wheel-15 is loosely mounted on the shaft 25 -hu't is adapted tol be clutched thereto by a clutch member v115, lwhich is splined to Vthe shaft and operatable by a bell crank 4116 connectedbv'a link 117 with a-n operating lever '1.18.' When this foot lever'118'v1s moved rearwardly, they clutch islv thrown into action A56 and the drivewheel'15 is ,thus'put'into gear with the sprocket chains 98, so that, as the vehicle moves forwardly these chains and L their tines travel. The foot lever 118 may,

i be locked in desired position 'by a small le-A 8 0 ver 119 mounted thereon'operatlng a pm 120 which may be en a'ge'd in a properly positioned hole in this frame cross bar 4. The lever end 118 is shown as extending over the lever 119 to protect it from inadvertent ac- ;66 tion-the operators toe may' conveniently ike'su port up4 whlch the bul spr roots are carrie s that 'may be made, as desired,

roduct which I provi e thehood 88l heretoforereferredtd, W

heretofore rev 46 ferred to. The sprocket wheel' 2 9 heretoraise the lever 119 and his whole foot move the lever 118. y -f In the .present design, I- have selected such Vratio of gearin that, while the machine is movingv forwar about the distance between adjacent -g'roups of tines on the puller, any o'ne group 'has moved from its position deepesti'n the ound to `-a ho'rizontal'fposition entering; t e upward passageway be-` 'tween ythe walls 87. It is self-evident, however, that any .other proportion of speed y Simply chan ing the relative sizes of the two gear whee s 110, and 111. v lo lprovide for convenient travel of the machine when not harvesting, I arrange the puller, cleaner and loader to-.swing ,into substantially horizontal position," as illustrated '^by broken lines in-Fig. 1. l' The mechanism- `,bein pivoted on the shaft '90, the greater weig t'is above the pivot, so it tends to .assume the horizontal position. In action it isheld inthe inclined position by meansof the chains4 140 which are secured to theA lower end offthe puller frame preferably to the ends'ofthe shaft 95 .and extend overf pulle s-141 supported onstuds rigidly car-- ried. y the frame and then pass orwardly to 4arms142 on a rocky shaft- 143.l A lever 144 extends forwardl from this-rock shaft andnprovidesmeans or pulling or.. slackening on the chains. This .'leverl44 is locked by a suitablezdog enteringa--statonary seg-v ment 146, the deg bein'g operated b a h and grip-147 associatedwiththehan e of the ever. vA suitable bail orcli lever may hold the retaining og'idle when desired. rEhe lower end of the; ller frame is guided by two '.pairs of `curv guide bars 15() located respectivelyv on opposite sides of thepullerand carried by the. frame of .the

' vehicle. The shaft 95v extends into the space between the guide bars. In normal operative'rosition `the partsare as shown in Fig. 1. o swing the puller into horizontal position for' tran ortation, the chute 130 is simply -remov' andthe lever 144 released and swung Y upwardly to slacken on the -chainl l To limit the -,digging de th of the tincs 105,'-it.is.enly necessary to lock the downward movement of the .lower end of the vpuller frame, -which is easily accomplished ysecuringan abutment,`as,.for example, a temporary clamp across the' bars 150 in suit-4 able position below the shaft 95. lTo release these tines from the soil, the machine is 'backed slightly, as ,in the case ofthe plows. 'Hence, one backing releaseseverything.

Since vroot crops are 'planted with their 149 on the rmvs of noA standard distance a art, itis desirable to make the age of t e wheels 14 a nd15 adjustable. accomplish this b v making the wheels laterally movable on their supporting axle and providing remvi i i i Yzo 1.11m# j n able 'distance slcevesadapted to surround the axle eitheroii the outer or inner sides of the wheel hubs, as the. ease may be. Thus, inthe construction shown, the frame inember 12 is a' stationary tulluilar axle housing',4 and in this tube is an axle 160 (Fig. u) projecting from each end of the tube'and hav ino mounted on it the hubs 161 lot the wlieels 14 and 15. Suitable. removablel distance sleeves l-63.and 164 iii'ay stand between the inner ends'qf the hubs and the outer ends of the tubular axle housing, thus spacing the wheels on,.tliis axle. or such sleeves may he removed and plaeed'on-the outersides of the hubs, thus hrinving the wheels closer toethein A series oi? such sleeves of diilerent engths may be employed. These are illus trated in Fig. l by 163 and 1(3-1. Suitable caps 165 are pinnedto the axle at its ends and overhang the sleeves. Without confiningr Amyself to any special dimensions, I may saythat I find it convenient to have the harvester straddle three rows of beets, andaccordingly, for each inch of difference in the planting of the rows, there shouldV be three inches of adjustment in the gage of.

the wheels to enal'ile them to track midway between roivs,and to eil'ect this, there should be an inch and a'lialf adjustment to each wheel. Accordingly, by making the sleeves of a length an inch and a half, three inches, four and a halt',- and six inches, .l may obtain an assortment. 'of dl'erent widths suitable for rows varying by inches.

lt will be noted that each of the sleeves 163, 164 and the cap N35/have flanged ends projecting over the adjacent. sleeve, and the 'sleeves nearest the huh, as well as the ends of the stationary axle housing, project over thc'hub. The hub and the opposite ends of the removable sleeves are made with beads "167, which not only strengthen ahem, but

serve to make a close joint with the overhaii,'fin;r sleeve but also a baille to keep out the dust and dirt.

`The system of adjustment described does away with the. necessity of any complex adj justing mechanism. There is nothing,r about the structure to get outl of order and, if a sleeve. should become` bri'iken or lost, a sini i ple piece of pi pe. or Ipiece of metal bent like fa pipe niav he temporarily substituted thereapart, meansI vehicle. moves', and projecting resilient tines '90 carried by said chains individually.

or replacements are easily made at any place,

even out in the'ield, as a Stillson wrench is about the only tool l requircd. Cotter pins.

4and set screws are used for holding the various whecls,`arins, shafts, etc., wherever 70 feasible, en'ablingftheir convenient adjustment, removal and.` replacement. I have heretofore referred to' the mechanism being driven by the ii'iainsprocke wheels 31 on.

the. supporting wheel 15. Tlii'sinain sprocket 75 wheel is preferably bolted tao'f ,ie wheel 15 in order to make easy repairsfo replacements.

Having' thus .described my invention, what I claiinis a. 1.. T liefcw in'binatioi hicle, offawseriesfof endless' chains carried -.tliei"eb v, iiieaiis for. moving said. chains as the velnlenioves, Vand individual resilient tiiies )projecting at intervals from 'each' chain.. Y

2. The combination,'with a wheeled vehicle, Aof a series of incliiiedendless chains carried therelyfside by side and spaced l .or movinbr sa id chains as the -3. 'llie combination,with i'i wheeled vehicle.. 'of a series of endlessr chains carried thereliy, means -for moving said chains as the vehicle moves, and. crop-lifting tines `carried bysaidchains, saidtines being arranged in a'rciial-groufps'to have a position the ,tines of a pitch approximately that o fork. Y v.

a. The coml'iinatiom with a movable ve'- 1 hielo, of' a series offendless chains carried 5 therein sidel by side and spaced lapart and extending in -an rup and down irection, means. for moving said chains as a unit com sequent upon the vehicle movement, and 105 resilient tiiies projectinglfrrom the chains at right anglestheretofand adapted to act on root crops.l v.

5. Thecombination, with a movable vchiele, of a series of endless chains carried 11 therein side by side and spaced apart and extending yin anr up and down direction,

means for moving saidchainsas a unit consequent upon the .vehicle movement, tinc's,

projtsting from thcehains, and side Walls nl;

on opposite sides of the. elevating portion of the chains. f 4

The combination -of a vehicle, a series of endless chains carried thereby side by side separated,from each other and located ug in a rearvardly and upwardly inclined dii=r|ion, resilient tines projecting individul ally from saidchains, means-for moving the series of chains as a unit to 4cans(` the projectingr n'ieinbors to pulli'ip crops over Il" which the vehicle. .travels and carry them' upwardlyalong the grill yprovided by the. spaced chains, and walls on opposite sides of such group of chains.

7'. The combination, withaI vehic1e of a. u(

' v a Aball at' its end;

avv .l l* 4,111,538

'coxnbined puller cleaner and loader cair- 'fied therebyand consistinv'of an inclined frame suiported by the vehicle, a series of, endless -ciains side by side supported .by 5 said frame',vl tinesrproj'ecting from said chalns.

inegi-oupsy out of transverse alinement.

I 8. In a harvester of 4the class described,

- the combination, with' a lwheeled Ivehicle,4 of a series of lendless cha1ns,.and a series of 10 tines carried thereby and adapted ,to act on the crop, said tines being each provided with 9. In u.- harvester o'fffl the co1nbinat-ion,' with a' wheeled vehicle,` of

15. a sprocket, wheelv and 'chain' thereon andvdriven thereby,' aseries of tines carried .by such chain and. .adapted to actl on lthe "erop, eachtine' being provided with a ball at its end, and ywitha screw -thread avt-the the class deseribed,

hicle, oa series of endless chains carried,

thereby side by side separated from leach other, means for moving sald' chains as the vehicle nieves,- tines pr0]ecting individually from said chains, said tines being arranged .in arenal groups to have a -position approx-4 imately that; of the tines of a pitch forkf In' testimony whereof, I- hereuntofaflix my signature .in the presence of two witnesses.

, FRANK siNGOL'DsBr 'Vitnessesz' 4 g i i ALnE'R'r'H. BATES,

L? BRENNAN B. WEST. 

